newsobserver.com projects - Donald Stephens - Comments

Re: Dome Memo: Busy week, but no budget

domewatcher — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:27:01 -0400

Top ten mythical comments from imaginary legislators as to why we ain’t got not budget deal yet:

10. "The lobbyists have been telling me how great I am and now I just can’t stand to leave the mirror. Do I really look like Brad Pitt?"

9. "I have been pretty tired lately. I’m not used to drinking the good stuff."

8. "Must be the special herbs and spices in that lobbyist chicken. It sure is good but makes you drowsy."

7. "We knocked off at lunch today. Everyone brought a beach chair and we sat outside………pretended we were sitting on the new pier. I’m bringing a fishing pole tomorrow and an Ember’s CD."

6. "I have not been back to the chambers since I heard about that snake handling bill. I am afraid of snakes and will not be going back until someone makes sure they did not leave any around the General Assembly. And anyhow, I’m a Presbyterian and we don’t do much with snakes."

5. "None of us really understands this budget mess. It’s because those pesky Republicans don’t want to raise taxes. We could balance the budget if we could raise taxes as high as the teachers and state employees want us to. Pretty simple if you are as smart as me."

4. "We have been too busy watching that court battle between the Gov and that school lady, June. I’ve never seen a trial like that and I have the whole “Perry Mason” series on VHS. And what is so funny……..I’ve voted for both June and Bev. And now they are squaring off in court. Life sure is funny sometimes."

3. "A lot of us have been working on getting Jim Black back home. Some things are just more important than a budget. You sure you’re not from that grand jury investigating all these goings on….? Maybe I shouldn’t be talking to you. Let me ask my lobbyist if I’m allowed."

2. "I’ve been keeping my head down and not saying nuthin’. I was afraid the Gov was going to invite me on her “Raise Your Taxes” tour. I don’t like flying much and I don’t want my constituents to know I’m up here in Raleigh. I hope this all blows over before the next election. I went back home to my district for momma's birthday but I wore a wig and a mustache...."

1. "With this $1.6 billion dollar tax increase coming……..well, to be honest………most of us legislators have taken part time jobs so we will be able to keep our heads above water. Me, I’m waitin’ tables at McDonalds. That doesn’t leave us much time to work on the budget. I don't know about the average working family but this new tax increase will put my family in the ditch. I just wish I had some say in this!"

Re: Dome Memo: Busy week, but no budget

PaulTerrell — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:34:05 -0400

Judge STephens is too busy yelling at school board attorneys. To bad he is not providing justice for the people of NC by actually punishing a CORRUPTED politician.

Soft on crime?

grinder — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:48:19 -0400

Soft on crime? I don't think so. These two gentlemen were not really doing anything other than working the system.

But those who shoplift to feed the family. That's another story. Lock them up and throw away the key.

The quality of mercy is directly related to the quality of your shoes. Shoes make the man and these two gentlemen wore some fine footwear in their day.

The quality of mercy

Isaac136 — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:21:18 -0400

I've got nothing against showing mercy to folks, but it would be nice to know that these judges would be as ready to extend the same mercies to convicts who aren't in their same social class and circles. Maybe they do. But Sam Curren sure never did.

Re: Hey, Ryan...

bkrueger — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:19:06 -0400

RTB is on vacation this week - not sure if it's good or bad that you didn't realize he was gone - but I'm told by one of our reporters that Wright is at the state prison in Pamlico County.

Hey, Ryan...

ThomasBrock — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:43:40 -0400

Wright's Offender Data Screen says his prison is "Not public information."

Do you know where he's serving his time?

Thanks in advance.

Re: Wright pleads not guilty

tyler99 — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:10:46 -0500

Who's Doug Harris?

Re: Wright appears before Wake magistrate

teepack — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 09:43:02 -0500

He might not have murdered anybody, but his actions sure are helping kill the public's confidence in our state elected officials.

Re: Black gets extension on fine

bnartist — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 10:10:44 -0500

He is in Federal prison until 2012. The Judge already decided on the fine and an additional jail term of 19-23 months. The Judge's deadline for the fine was to determine whether the jail time would be served concurrently or consecutively with the Federal sentence.

A little like waiting to see if an animal would chew off its leg to get out of a trap. Seems like there are some vultures waiting also.

Re: Black gets extension on fine

ncharleyhardtail — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 06:59:20 -0500

Extention ?? He disgraces our system and he get's an extention. That sends a real good message to the people. He should be in Prison!

Re: Happy Thanksgiving from Dome

Proctor — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 02:09:06 -0500

Dome's Thanksgiving lull is richly deserved. It is entirely appropriate that Dome itself be given the opportunity to be associated in the public mind with turkeys for a day or two out of the political calendar year. Turnabout is fair play.

But what about New Year's weekend? With the new schedule of caucuses and primaries from Iowa to New Hampshire, how is Dome going to find the time to enjoy some of the more intriguing football bowl matchups? Indeed, Dome may find itself in a journalistic position of being Johnny-on-the-spot, so to speak, when it comes to differentiating between voting percentages and passing yardage.

Re: Happy Thanksgiving from Dome

ethanperry — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 23:34:20 -0500

Politicians and bureaucrats can be thankful many of them will keep their jobs due to the apathy of a majority of voters.

Others can just be thankful we live in a society where hope is eternal.

Re: Payback time?

Proctor — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:46:31 -0400

This is one of the most surprising instances of the brandishing of judicial prerogative that I have ever read about in North Carolina court proceedings, but give The News & Observer an assist for the "justification" of this most unjustifed $1 million fine.

The News & Observer, which has competed vigorously with its new McClatchy Newspapers teammate, The Charlotte Observer, to give the public a false picture of Jim Black as a sinister, back-of-the-alley power broker in Raleigh--when in fact on some many occasions he unselfishly contributed personally to the betterment of personal and familial stresses faced by fellow members of the North Carolina House of Representatives--made a big point of saying that Dr. Black "bragged" about his ability to raise $1 million in political funds.

Dr. Black was just informing the court in a truthful manner as to what the fund-raising situation was in the N.C. House as best he could assess it, which is what one would suppose that court officials and especially the judge would have wanted.

Then the judge took an illogical leap from that statement to somehow find his way to some inappropriate parallel between raising political funds and raising personal funds for one's own business, family and personal acitivites. It seems as if the judge decided to "dare" Dr. Black to "prove it."

But Dr. Black was no longer in the General Assembly at the time of his state court sentencing and indeed and already been sentenced and served the first day of that sentence at the time of the proceedings. We are then supposed to accept the premise that Dr. Black can be adjudged to have been restored to his former station in order to go about raising a million dollars in personal, and not political, funds as some sort of "court contest?"

What does Dr. Black "win" if he wins this contest? We already know what happens if he loses this Wake County million-dollar jamboree: more imprisonment, according to Judge Stephens.

Where is the statutory authority for levying a find in the amount of $1 million for having unwisely permitted chiropractors to make campaignng contributions outside the proper channels? Why wasn't the court interested in pursuing the previous flase charge of bribery for a party-switching maneuver when it became clear that Dr. Black was not going to permit funds to be advanced to an individual in order to motivate him to change his parties but rather stood ready as the responsible leader of Democrats in the N.C. House at the time to make political funds avialable on a fair and nondiscriminatory basis to all members of his party in the House, including newcomers?

All the newcomers to Raleigh, think of this part of the story: the former Speaker was chastised for his willingness to let a newcomer to the Democratic Party--after switching to the party on his own volition--to have access to the normal distribution of political campaign funds for N.C. House Democrats.

This is the most deceitful manner in which the public school district in one of North Carolina's 100 counties can be enriched over all the others in the amount of $1 million when in fact the geographic venues for the specific charges against Dr. Black on the unreported chiropractor contributions was agreed by all parties inovled to have been in the Piedmont section of the state. Why should Wake County get a million dollars and Rowan County not a nickel?

Has there ever been a fine of $1 million levied against an individual in public life--and not a corporation or interest group--in any sort of similar case? In the past, The N&O would have researched this question and provided an answer.

But no, the newspaper was too busy ridiculing people who have difficulty of hearing aids [Lead sentence of story: "Say what?"], following its present pattern of "lingo first, content later," that it hasn't been able to look into this.

Folks, Dr. Black is an optometrist, not a hearing specialist.

The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer both could have found out what really happened in this case. But as liberal as they both are presumed to be, they seem downright afraid to probe the "penalty treatment" which some state Republicans are willing to dish out--to Republicans and Democrats alike--who are willing to work together for bipartisan progress for the people of North Carolina.

This $1 million bout of judicial braggadoccio should be ruled out of order by a higher level of the judicial system before the rest of the country finds out that in North Carolina sentencing does not even need to approach "fitting the crime."

David McKnight--Durham

Re: Payback time?

jhpullen — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:05:03 -0400

I must have misunderstood. I apologize

Re: Payback time?

bnartist — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 14:43:10 -0400

Actually the Judge suspended the sentence only until December. If Black pays the $1 million by then the additional 19-23 months jail time is to be served concurrently. If Black does not pay the $1 million, the additional jail time is to be served consecutively.